the ring

If someone asked me when was the last time I felt good about myself, I didn't have to think really hard to tell them that it was about a month ago when I killed my shit of a stepfather. 

So, yes, I was in a good mood when walking back home. 

That was until a bunch of shit for brain assholes stopped me right around the corner from my house.

"Where do you think you're going Addams?" Liam, the biggest guy in their group asked while walking towards me with a puffed chest like he was proud of himself for what he was doing. 

"Not now Liam, I don't have the time to deal with you today," I said and tried to walk around him. 

"Well, find the time then…" he said with a burst of loud laughter, and just as I was about to pass him by, he extended his hand and pushed me back with all his might. 

But unlike what he expected, I didn't move from my position and just looked at the hand on my chest. 

"what the h…" 

I grabbed him by the hand and threw him towards his gang with so much force that they all got thrown in different directions like bowling pins. 

"I said I don't have time," I repeated myself again and stepped over his body, walking towards my destination, home. 

Less than two minutes later, I opened the door to our small apartment and walked in, "MOM, I'm home." 

My mom was in our house's only room, packing our stuff. 

"hi honey, welcome back." 

"hi mom, how is the packing going?" I asked, threw my bag to the side, and picked up a box to help her.

"It's going well but…" she hesitated for a bit before putting the box in her hand down and asking, "Are you sure it's alright to…." 

"for the thousandth time Mom. It's okay. We deserve better than this shithole so now that the opportunity has presented itself, we can do whatever we want." 

"but…. What about Jack…. What if he comes back and…" 

"don't worry, he will never lay a hand on you ever again." I assured her and continued packing, "You know, we don't even need to pack these stuff….. we can just buy new ones…" 

"these are all the things left of my time with your father honey, I won't leave them for the world." My mother answered with a sad tone and continued packing. 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Two months ago, before my life changed forever. 

"MOM, I'm home." 

"in here honey…" my mom answered. 

I threw my bag on the couch that also functioned as my bed and walked towards where my mother was. 

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY," my mom almost shouted with a beautiful smile on her bruised face. 

Looking at my mom, I felt sad and didn't know how to respond to the situation in front of me. 

"it's ok honey, it's just a bruise. It will go away in a few days," my mom tried to make me feel better and continued, "Now make a wish…" 

I nodded my head in helplessness and closed my eyes, 'I hope he dies a tribble death.' I wished and blew the candles. 

"Happy 16th birthday honey. I wish you the best of everything." My mom put the cake away and hugged me before sitting on the tattered bed and pulling my hand to sit next to him. 

"Honey, I know that I wasn't able to give you the best life I could have given you, and I'm sorry about that, but… but I want you to know that I love you more than anything in the world and I'm sure you dad would have said the same thing if he was with us today…" 

Since he died before I was born, I didn't really know the man, but if I ever saw him, the first thing I would do, was punch him in the knots for leaving my mother when she needed him the most. 

"I know you think he is at fault for what I…. we've been through dear, but I want you to know that he loved us… I need you to understand that, okay?" my mom said and without waiting for me to respond, brought a small box out of the side of the bed and gave it to me, "he told me to give this to you on your 16th birthday…." 

I looked at the box, expecting something shiny and valuable, but as soon as I opened it, all my hopes deflated.

Inside the box was a reddish-black rusted ring, with some unreadable engravings on it. 

I looked at my mother waiting for an explanation, but it seemed like she was as clueless as I was about the ring. 

I wanted to throw the ring away and say that I didn't want anything from that asshole but my mother's pleading look prevented me from throwing a tantrum, so I just put the ring on my left hand's ring finger and said, "Thank you mom." 

"Sorry dear, I know you must be disappointed. But I'm sure your dad loved you." 

"yeah, right," I said under my breath, not daring to say it out loud for fear of making my mother sad. 

"let's eat the cake now," she clapped her hands and brought out the cake again. 

As she was picking the candles one by one from the cake, a loud bang was heard from the apartment door, and soon after a loud shout was heard, "Mary, where are you…. give me another beer, this one is about to end." 

My mother looked at me with fright and stood up to hide the cake and the ring box but before he could do anything, Jack, my drunk stepfather walked into the bedroom.

"what do we have here?" he asked and took a sip from the beer bottle in his hand, "there was a birthday at my own house and I wasn't even invited?" 

The evil grin on his face sent shivers down my spine but I was helpless in the face of his power.

After all, I was just a skinny boy with no power to defend what I loved. 

But today was going to be different. Today was going to be the last day that I let him lay a hand on my mother. 

I stood up with fear and was about to say something when my mother pulled me back and stood up in front of me, "I'm sorry dear, I didn't know you would be home this early or else I would have told you…" 

Jack looked at my mother's scared face with amusement and without saying anything, hit her in the head with the beer bottle in his hand. 

He threw my mother's lifeless body to the side and looked at me with contempt, "It's all your fault and now it's your turn to be punished."

He took a step toward me and was about to hit me when my mother grabbed him by the foot and pleaded, "Please, it was all my fault Jack." 

Jack hit my mother in the face with his feet, "Shut up bitch, you're going to be next. I'm not done with you yet." 

He took another step towards me and was about to hit me when my mother appeared out of nowhere and pushed me away and took the hit instead, "Get out Alex, run." She shouted but when she saw me not moving, she slapped me in the face and shouted again, "I SAID RUN." 

I came out of my daze and looked at her with fright and guilt and was about to refute but Jack beat me into it and pushed her away again, "You think you can run from me?" 

Before he could do anything else my mother appeared again and pushed me towards the door before shouting again, "Get the hell out of the house and don't get back until tomorrow." 

My body moved on itself and the next thing I remembered I was sitting in the dark alley next to our apartment complex, hugging my knees and crying. 

"I will kill him, I will kill him, I will kill him," I repeated to myself over and over and then noticed the ring on my left hand and got infuriated even more, "it's all your fault. If you didn't die then none of this would have happened. I hate you." 

I grabbed the ring and tried to pull it out but it didn't move an inch which made me even angrier. 

"You fucking ring. Get out of my hand…." I shouted and pulled harder, but nothing happened. 

Just as I wanted to try again, the ring started to glow dimly and get hotter by the second. 

In less than ten seconds, it got so hot that I was screaming at the top of my lungs for help.

Another ten seconds and I could feel the flesh of my finger melt and the ring touching my bone. 

Just when I thought that I was about to die, I heard a voice in my head, "Starting integration."

After hearing the voice, I dropped lifelessly to the ground and my eyes started to close. 

But before I completely passed out, I saw a figure walking toward me.

'Did he come after me? is my mom all right?' I thought, worried that he might have done something irreversible to my mom. 

As the figure walked closer and closer, I noticed some differences between him and Jack and started to pass out.

Then I heard a voice saying, "I finally found you, tiger cub."